Washington Wizards Acquire A.J. Price, Stash Satoransky in Europe

With Shelvin Mack's inconsistent play at the point guard position during last season and the NBA Summer League, the Wizards were looking for a backup point guard. A.J. Price played for the Indiana Pacers for the past three years and will be competing with Mack for playing time at point guard.

On the offensive end, Price brings an experienced backup touch that will help run the team effectively. He wont light up the opposition by scoring, but he is enough of a threat from three-point territory that he can keep the defense honest while running the offense.

Mack has done enough in shooting opportunities but has had trouble being the pure point guard that the Wizards need for their reserve unit. He struggled mightily in the Summer League to keep the Wizards offense in check and get them into their sets.

Price will help the Wizards out on offense, but Mack is arguably better defensively. There should be a battle in training camp for the starting job, but at this point it looks like it could be Price. Even though Mack brings consistency on defense, Price's ability to both score and run the offense should put him over the top.

The other point guard the Wizards had on the roster for Summer League was Tomas Satoransky. Satoransky was taken at pick 32 in the 2012 NBA Draft and was presumed to stay in Europe for at least a year. After coming over to play in the Summer League, Michael Lee of The Washington Post reports that the Wizards will keep him in Spain.

Satoransky has some talent and considerable athleticism, but the Wizards still intend to stick to their plan of stashing the second-round pick in Europe next season, according to a league source with knowledge of the team’s thinking.

The 6'7" point guard has both great size and athleticism but is too inconsistent as a point guard at this point. In the same piece by Lee, Satoransky expressed his excitement to play for the Wizards. This is a great sign from a foreign player but another year of development in Europe should only make him a more valuable asset.